It’s Time to Pay Attention to the Other Cabernet

Quick: when you hear a wine is cabernet, do you automatically think cabernet sauvignon? Of course you do. It’s the world’s most widely planted red grape, noted for big, rich, power-packed wines you can swoon over and even invest in.

But I’m here to convince you to remember cabernet franc, its lighter, fresher, juicier, and more versatile relative. (In fact, cabernet franc turns out to be one of the parents of cabernet sauvignon.) Once an underdog, cabernet franc become the new insider choice for wine geeks, somms, and those who like to be up on the fashionable grape of the moment.